Russia and Issues of HTS and Tanzim Hurras ad-Din
Russia and Issues of HTS and Tanzim Hurras ad-Din
Moderate Syrian opposition includes some natives from Russia’s North Caucasus, although they are a minority. Caucasian and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) natives were, in large part, members of the Islamic State (IS) or in some way linked to the forces formally led by Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN) and later by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Those who went to Syria and Iraq to fight can be roughly divided into two generations. The first one includes Caucasus Emirate members who responded to the call of Salafi sheikhs from Arab-Islamic centres. Natives of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kirghizia, and Turkmenistan (migrant workers, for the most part) were mainly recruited for jihad in Russia or within various diasporas across Europe.
The ideas expressed are those of the author not the publisher
Published in October 2020
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Part of the Syria Transition Challenges Project
Anton Mardasov is a non-resident military affairs expert at the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) focusing on Syria, Iraq, and extremist organisations. He is the author of numerous articles in the Russian media, several studies and chapters of books on Russian strategy in Syria and the Syrian opposition, as well as Moscow’s relations with Iran, Lebanon, and Egypt. His articles and commentary have appeared in Al-Monitor, Al Jazeera, Asharq Al-Awsat, and others. In the past, Anton has been a consultant to the analytical departments of the security services of two oil companies.